Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Buys 1,704 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,938 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $501,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 125.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 325,052 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $12,661,000 after purchasing an additional 181,074 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 135,060 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after purchasing an additional 12,001 shares during the last quarter. bLong Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $1,033,000. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,853 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.56. The company has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).